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i haven't really watched gundam since i was a kid and this was the first series that i actually followed religiously in a long time. what got me was the amounts of twists and turns...you were expecting one thing and them bam! something you weren't expecting showed up. only thing i wished more was to expand the stories more. but that's what season 2 is for right. can't wait for that.

On another hand though, I wonder why so many people find this better than SEED (Destiny maybe...depends how much you're willing to forgive of its blatant reused scenes). By the end of SEED's halfway point (let's just say ep 30), we had the series reach its emotional peak (KIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ATHRUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!)

I'm willing to wager that Gundam 00 is in a catch-22 right now. Either the Gundam 00 is nothing particularly amazing, even with dual GN drives (it still has a hard fight against small numbers, showing the ineptitude of CB's engineering), or it's completely broken as hell and we have another Freedom/Wing Zero on our hands, and don't even get me started on SF, and unless handled with kid gloves, supergundams break gundam shows, ESPECIALLY Gundam 00 that's so "THIS IS REAL ROBO. NOT GODDESS-POWERED GUNDAMS!"

If Gundam 00 gets knocked around by the usual junk, there was no point to build it to begin with. If it's a pwnasaurus rex up there in the ranks of Kira/Athrun/Heero/Zechs gundams (Freedom/Justice/Zero/Epyon(or Tallgeese III) ) respectively, then Gundam 00 is no more the show than everyone whines that SEED, Destiny, and Wing were.

And put it this way--Wing was so good that it was the only post-UC gundam to spawn a sequel OVA. And SEED was so damn good that not only did it spawn an OVA sequel, but an entire second season, and if Morosawa didn't botch it so hard by creating more characters than she could have managed and play to fans so much by making Orb the center of attention for the entire series, then it could have been the best Gundam to date in decades.

We're only at the halfway point with G00. We KNOW the mid-series upgrade is there. Now the show is in a catch-22. Is it becoming of a traditional mid-series powerhouse gundam, thus breaking everything Gundam 00 stood for (and while w're at it, let's Mwuvive Lockon!), or is it the biggest fraud in the history of mid-series gundam upgrades?

To say it's so good is to simply look down on the past simply because it's the past. Wing I'm sure was many of yours first gundam (I know it was mine) and in the near future, I might plan to torrent the whole series to rewatch. SEED was amazing, and Destiny a great show in its own right, simply mishandled, much like the way FFX-2 was (which was still very good IMO).

Is Gundam 00 good? Sure. But it does have its flaws, and IMO is neither better than wing nor SEED and by this point in Destiny, Kira had only fought in one major battle (ep 23). Gundam 00 can very well have jumped the shark already. When you have supergundams, the show can either maintain how good it is, or if the producers/directors are careless, can just degenerate into "LOOK AT HERO PWN EVERYTHING."

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Signature stolen by a horde of carnivorous bunnies. It is an unscientifically proven fact that they are attracted to signatures which break the signature rules.

The animation quality and the openings and endings (both versions) were excellent.
The start may have been a little slow but I feel that the later episodes made up greatly for it and some extra.
The plots quite good but its the way they showed that people are still human and no one is invincible regardless what side they were on (like Lockon Stratos) and its the way they portrayed the sadder moments like his death and when Saji met Louise at the hospital.

To me this is the best Ive seen from the Gundam series, unlike others Ive seen it has a smarts for tactics from both sides in the anime.

Is Gundam 00 good? Sure. But it does have its flaws, and IMO is neither better than wing nor SEED and by this point in Destiny, Kira had only fought in one major battle (ep 23). Gundam 00 can very well have jumped the shark already. When you have supergundams, the show can either maintain how good it is, or if the producers/directors are careless, can just degenerate into "LOOK AT HERO PWN EVERYTHING."

In what way could it have jumped the shark?

Overall I found the series promising at the start, with the simulacrum of modern politics embodied by the 3 world powers. I had hoped for relatively realistic political interplay, but it soon became an ALL vs Gundam affair. That's not to say it was bad, because I felt that they handled the plot direction quite well. On the issue of characterization... this was no Dickens novel. It's difficult to get large amounts of characterization with so many characters and the need to keep the pace of the series.

In the end, I'm a bit concerned about the formation of the Earth Federation and the introduction of 00 Gundam. BUT having said that, the survival of Ali and Graham could be used to make things much more interesting. I'm hoping they go renegade to provide some depth to the conflicts overall

On another hand though, I wonder why so many people find this better than SEED (Destiny maybe...depends how much you're willing to forgive of its blatant reused scenes). By the end of SEED's halfway point (let's just say ep 30), we had the series reach its emotional peak (KIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ATHRUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!)

I'm willing to wager that Gundam 00 is in a catch-22 right now. Either the Gundam 00 is nothing particularly amazing, even with dual GN drives (it still has a hard fight against small numbers, showing the ineptitude of CB's engineering), or it's completely broken as hell and we have another Freedom/Wing Zero on our hands, and don't even get me started on SF, and unless handled with kid gloves, supergundams break gundam shows, ESPECIALLY Gundam 00 that's so "THIS IS REAL ROBO. NOT GODDESS-POWERED GUNDAMS!"

If Gundam 00 gets knocked around by the usual junk, there was no point to build it to begin with. If it's a pwnasaurus rex up there in the ranks of Kira/Athrun/Heero/Zechs gundams (Freedom/Justice/Zero/Epyon(or Tallgeese III) ) respectively, then Gundam 00 is no more the show than everyone whines that SEED, Destiny, and Wing were.

And put it this way--Wing was so good that it was the only post-UC gundam to spawn a sequel OVA. And SEED was so damn good that not only did it spawn an OVA sequel, but an entire second season, and if Morosawa didn't botch it so hard by creating more characters than she could have managed and play to fans so much by making Orb the center of attention for the entire series, then it could have been the best Gundam to date in decades.

We're only at the halfway point with G00. We KNOW the mid-series upgrade is there. Now the show is in a catch-22. Is it becoming of a traditional mid-series powerhouse gundam, thus breaking everything Gundam 00 stood for (and while w're at it, let's Mwuvive Lockon!), or is it the biggest fraud in the history of mid-series gundam upgrades?

To say it's so good is to simply look down on the past simply because it's the past. Wing I'm sure was many of yours first gundam (I know it was mine) and in the near future, I might plan to torrent the whole series to rewatch. SEED was amazing, and Destiny a great show in its own right, simply mishandled, much like the way FFX-2 was (which was still very good IMO).

Is Gundam 00 good? Sure. But it does have its flaws, and IMO is neither better than wing nor SEED and by this point in Destiny, Kira had only fought in one major battle (ep 23). Gundam 00 can very well have jumped the shark already. When you have supergundams, the show can either maintain how good it is, or if the producers/directors are careless, can just degenerate into "LOOK AT HERO PWN EVERYTHING."

Now, how I think of Gundam 00...
Story/Plot: Pretty damn good. It's very heavy on the political side, and whilst the show did involve a lot of talking, it was actually interesting stuff that we wanted to hear. The whole Celestial Being wanting to eradicate war through armed interventions at first sounded quite silly, but then it revealed itself to be a very good, although not flawless plan (Gundams got owned). There is also not definite, defined "good" or "bad" side, and this brings some philosophical thinking on the sides, especially CB, whether they are doing the right thing or not. Also, it offered views from different perspectives, such as through civilians (Saji and Louise) which helped strengthen the "there's no good/bad side" overall view of the show. 9/10

Characters: I like them. The Meisters were not shown to be perfect beings or Jesus Christ incarnate (Seed/Destiny...), and we can associate with them as human beings as well as Meisters, as the story went on, and their characters develop. The whole cast is full of colourful, diverse characters, and Sunrise weren't afraid to kill off some of them instead of giving them haxx plotshields. This adds effectiveness that war is deadly and that people will die. A few were a bit odd, especially the Licht/Christina romance ending, when there had been little to no interaction between them before. Also, Graham "falling in love" with Setsuna and the Exia was definitely as bit...off, but I'm not complaing. 8/10

Animation: Simply wow. The fighting scenes, although not plentiful, were well planned out and always intense. There were almost no reused cells for the fighting, and it wasn't super rainbow beam spam (Well, Virtue, but he does miss sometimes) to the point where epileptics will have seizures, which is a good thing. Suits didn't just explode from a single shot or hit, their limbs were shot/cut off in addition, which made kills interesting. GN particles were very pretty as well. 10/10

Gundams: Their designs, IMO, are beautiful. Aesthetically, they looked very pleasing (Nadleeh, especially), and the way that they're built for a specific function (Exia melee, Dynames sniper/shooter, etc) gives a realistic tone (Not like the Strike Freedom Gundam, which is everything thrown into one big package). And they are capable of *gasp* being hit by non-main characters! How rad is that. 10/10

This series is much more realistic than others, which is why it really appeals to me. This isn't a one sided fight where good guys pwn bad guys all the time, or teenage characters screaming each other's names for half the damn episode. This series was the bomb for, and although I'm worried about the second season, seeing what Seed Destiny turned into (Wasn't really much of a difference between 1st and 2nd season really...oh shit, now Demongod86 is gonna complain about this), but I have confidence that they can pull it off. Overall 9/10 for me.

-Action: I'd agree it was nothing flashy as the two or three series which preceded this, but toning it down did the right job, especially if the Gundams were specifically made to be toned down as well and to give more time to the supposed antagonists of the series. Episodes with big fights (e.g. The desert ambush, CB's last stand) were rather well-animated and hardly any ridiculous 'time-stop' scenes where one character talks to another for a few minutes (be it contrived emotional stuff or something else) in the crossfire with beams flying around.
Score: 9/10

-Characters: Most were fleshed out considerably, where no one is left the same after the last fight except for the characters who saw little development and screentime as compared to the rest (a minus here for some, since more time might probably make Alejandro Corner's supposed last minute personality change a la Gilbert Dullindal more convincing. Wang Liu Min as well...But I suppose there will be greater focus on her in the second half of 00). Setsuna essentially represented the teenage generation, full of self-belief at the beginning yet having doubts gnaw at him when he sees failure over and over again while being taught valuable life lessons. Tieria also saw a change thanks to Lockon, Allelujah had to deal with his demons (although that unhappily slapped him with a tag of being the most useless Meister after that) while Lockon...well, was either being himself or helping the two Meisters discover new things about themselves.

And of course, the more "senseless" reasons for liking certain characters such as the female ensemble of CB for their moe-ness (Feldt) and assets (Sumeragi). This certainly isn't a very good reason, but one nonetheless for the unforgiving detractors of the series.

The best thing about this series in terms of character (since I have yet to watch Zeta or the like) is the amount of deaths, and having the ratio of deaths for the protagonists' side much higher than the antagonists'. It wasn't just the fact that important or popular characters weren't immune to getting killed, but the significance and impact they left on those close to them. While I agree that Lichtendahl's and Christina's death was a little drawn-out, certain deaths such as Howard Mason's and Lockon Stratos' had real meaning and pushed the story along its way well.

Another plus is the fact that the antagonists had superior skills and tactics in more ways than one, putting the protagonists into a fix when they really got down to it. Ali Al Sarches overpowered Setsuna at almost every turn, Graham Aker proved his worth in battle time and time again while Soma Peelis effectively shackled Allelujah until he decided to do a personality merge.
Just as a last point, the showing of emotions felt more normal, which means (as much as I hate to compare) no horrible out of place screaming like Kira Yamato in Seed.
Score: 8/10

-Realism: Considering this is what most people have been applauding and bashing Gundam 00 for, I'd just like to say that there's been a good dosage of realism in Gundam 00 in that they try to make use of military tactics instead of superpowered mobile suits to decide combat, and the show makes a good attempt to bring into focus certain aspects of politics involving the three blocs and Azadistan.

Nitpicking and bashing is unavoidable, however, when it comes down to trying to give a mecha show some realism (they probably screwed physics, since making a machine the size of a Gundam move like with the Trans-Am System activated already defied that ), so it's understandable for those who write off the realism in Gundam 00-Because they were promised realism and want to see a complete picture of it, and because they use their own POVs to judge the series (such as using a soldier's POV, which is also understandable because I had been in the army before).

Ultimately, by comparing the series with Wing, the Seed series and a little of Gundam X, I'd say Gundam 00 has done fairly well in the realms of realism, though I suspect Turn A or the earlier U.C series might beat this.
Score: 8/10

Plot: Could have been better, especially with Graham Aker's last minute appearance and many questions left behind regarding VEDA. I'm grateful that Sunrise didn't squeeze many revelations into one part, though, as leaving it open for answers in the next after throwing some teasers works well. Basically I have no major problems with the plot on the whole as a simple-minded viewer that I am.
Score: 7/10

Music: Personal expectations on what the composers can do aside, I found the OPs and EDs as well as the BGMs aptly used, considering this is one of the first times that they left a lasting impression on me. I suspect that not everyone loves the music, but Sunrise can't please every viewer, nitpicker or basher, can they? Just to be safe, I'm no music guru and simply like most of what I hear.
Score: 9.5/10

Tech designs: I'm all for difference, so the absence of the Mono-eyed and the lack of wings from the protagonist's unit was extremely refreshing, not to mention the interesting designs of the three blocs' machines. Of course, the "hardcore" fans of conventional mecha designs would have issues with the Thrones or even Virtue up till even now (esepcially Throne Drei), though. The GN-X's were not particularly pleasing to the eye, but I got used to them.
Score: 8/10

Voice Acting: I seriously don't know what to say, aside from the fact that all the actors have done their jobs pretty well. Patrick Corlasawar sounded just like the comic relief he might have been meant to be, while Mamoru Miyano did a great job as usual...and I don't know how to comment more on this without sounding like a hopeless fanboy for the seiyuu.
Score: 10/10

*For honorary mention, I also like the symbolisms shown in the ED and even in the episodes themselves.

Overall Impression: It was a very exciting ride, providing adequate coverage on realism as much as a fictious show could provide and having a bevy of interesting characters on both sides. Though the ending left a truckload of questions, I'm extremely positive for the second half of the season, and would prefer to enjoy myself rather than keep the comparisons going all the time or continue to nitpick and bash as though one's livelihood depended on it.

Like any gundam series, this provides us with great action and a look at the ideals and morals of fighting and war. This time they decided to completely go with the hypocrisy route and fight for peace. the flawed concept that you can inspire change when you refuse to follow the same standards. Started a virtual arms race which left the world arguably more armed than before. They did unite, however which i guess does mean the CB's goal was archived. Also nice to see non-sadistic people willing to pull the trigger. the role of mentor provided by Lockon was also a nice touch.

--
lack of real antagonist
horrible MS except for dynames and exia
saji (and a few other characters)

The main urking point is the lack of a true enemy. No united evil to fight. Enemies were expendable as arcs and the lack of a true goal expect fight everything and everyone. Even if Aledrondo turned out to be the true "baddie", it happened only in the last few eps. The other urk is the virtue/nadeleeh + every grunt suit except the flag. The union and HRL suits look horrible and i personally hated virtue. Nadeleeh had potential but we only had about 3 eps of screen time for it. Dynames is easily my favorite suit of the series, as i just love snipers, but i still am missing that, "man i wish i had that model" felling that i had from wing. Cant compare exia to the awesomeness of wing zero, and nadeleeh is a far cry from Heavy arms. The freedom proved to be better than anything they popped out. The GN-X look like some eva concept reject. was hoping for bigger and better roles from Saji. (i.e. joining CB) and Louise, while not annoying, was forgettable.

10/10 although it started off slow it blew me away with the plot twists/shocks and fights. it also showed that the directors weren't afraid to kill off characters at a shocking rate. both the OPs and EDs were stellar. loved the fighting scenes for several reasons, 2 of the reasons being very little reused scenes and no outrageously large scale battles. 1vs 1 to several is always better.

Maybe the best part of G00, and that would be the drama. Usually in war-type anime, you rarely ever feel for the characters, even during their deaths. But the way they develop the characters, one really connected to them, be it good or bad. So while there's some cahracters whose death you actually rooted for, at the very least one did not feel indifferent to it, which is my point. I mean, who wasn't affected by Lock-on's final stand? Or Lichty's vain sacrifice for Christina? Or heck, for me the most dramatic moment wasn't even a death, but rather just the amputation of Louise by a Gundam's shot.

Which leads to the next topic, the mecha battles. Needless to say, any major character vs a Gundam was as fresh and epic as it was the last one. Was there even reused footage in the seires? If there was, then I didn't notice it at all even during the grunt battles.

One thing that stands out for me in G00 is that grunts aren't sitting ducks. While they still get blown to pieces in the end, at least a lot of the time they dodge, they hit, and actually give the sense of feeling that they're fighting back. That the only reason why they're losing isn't because of lack of tactics, planning, or numerical inferiority, but that of severely outclassed technology. In other words, the military is like a REAL military, rather than a bunch of incompetent imbeciles seen in other Gundam shows *cough*SEED*cough*DESTINY*cough*.

Which leads me to the worst part of Gundam 00: the plot 'twists' that literally comes out of nowhere to save the Gundams for another day. Whether it be new equipment (ugh... Trans-am), new allies (Thrones anyone?), or even downright inconsistencies (if after trans-am you're a sitting duck, then how the hell did Setsuna tie with Graham?), this was the biggest weakness of Gundam 00. You do it once, then I'd lay off a bit, but it seems time after time when the Gundams are in a pinch, something always saves the day for them. I mean, c'mon guys, how hard the hell is it to give a hint or two an episode or so before to foreshadow these plot devices?

All that said, I think this is head and tails better than any other Gundam I've seen, save maybe for Turn A. (Granted, I've only seen Wing and after)

Mecha Battles: A+
Drama: A+
Plot Device: C-Overall Series Grade: A-

One thing I thought G00 severly lacked would be romance, but that hasn't affected the scores at all as it really is a personal preference. At the very least though, the characters seems to have LIs (even multiple ones) on the horizon. Setsuna, apart from Marina, connected with Feldt near the end, and we can't forget about psycho girl. Soma with Bear Guy of Russia, and we still don't know how she's connected with multiple personlaity disorder guy. Heck, even the connection between Louise and Tiera is suspicious, and get Saji thrown into the mix there, and I can see a lot of potential romance in the second season apart fromt he obvious ones. (Katagiri and Sumeragi, to name but one)

It's been a good run so far, but far from perfect. Hardly deserving of 10/10 (though few gundam series can actually be considered for a 10/10).

Some flaws/never adressed issues...

-Wang Liu Mei. What's up with her? We were told that she's a famous star of some sort, but we never, ever see that. When Saji sees her, he doesn't go "oh, it's you!" or anything like that. What kind of star is she? Why has she done?

-Alejandro. For the guy who became such a clown by the end, they really didn't foreshadow or build it up at all (as opposed to, say, Graham and G-forces). For the first part of the series, he's perfectly legitimate, just another mysterious guy in a mysterious organization. The first concrete proof was when he deactivated the Trial systems via Ribbons, and even then we didn't know if that made him "evil" or if the Thrones were really part of the plan.

-Thrones. What is their backstory? A bit more would have been nice, people. No need for Neena to spill it all out much later when you had three pilots for awhile.

-The Alejandro-Laguna-Ali connection. I have a feeling that the directors were being a bit too subtle with the fact that, know it or not, Ali was a tool in a Celestial Being power-struggle. Where else did Ali keep getting his new positions of trust and mechs from? We knew that Ali had a political backer somewhere, but now we know it was Laguna (and through him, Alejandro). It would have been nice to actually have some Laguna characterization as well.

-(Male)Bridge crew. Surely you could have given a little more relevance? Or at least characterization?

And many, many more things that could have been developed/looked back at a bit more. Sumeragi's past? The changing global political setup in the three powers? The Solar Wars, and veterans from them?

-Wang Liu Mei. What's up with her? We were told that she's a famous star of some sort, but we never, ever see that. When Saji sees her, he doesn't go "oh, it's you!" or anything like that. What kind of star is she? Why has she done?

She's not a star in the show business sense, but a celebrity of upper class heritage... And not everyone recognizes every celebrity from every single country out there, you know.

Though I agree, the backstories of the plot-relevant non-Meisters really do need to be expanded upon.